The Age of Miracles: Parental Behavior and Reactions Essay

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the contrasting reactions of Julia's parents, Joel and Helen, to the global phenomenon of the Earth's slowing in Karen Thompson Walker's 'The Age of Miracles.' The essay explores how Joel, a calm and practical doctor, and Helen, an anxious and dramatic mother, respond to the changes, highlighting their differing approaches to the crisis. It examines how their behaviors impact their relationship and Julia's experience of the world, illustrating themes of adaptation, acceptance, and the strain of uncertainty. The analysis delves into specific instances from the novel, such as their reactions to the news reports and the practical steps they take, or fail to take, in response to the changing world. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of their contrasting responses in shaping the family's dynamic and Julia's perspective on the unfolding events.

Running head: AGE OF MIRACLES
AGE OF MIRACLES
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Julia is a sensitive eleven-year-old girl who is experiencing a lot of changes around her at
the same time. She lives in California near the coast. The Slowing is something that has altered
the lives of everyone on the planet. The plot of The Age of Miracles by Karen Walker Thompson
shows the effect of a natural problem has on everyone through the eyes of an adolescent young
girl.
The Earth has slowed down, meaning that every notion everyone has about the concept of
days and nights or the twenty four hour format of a whole day is rendered immaterial overnight
(Walker). Day and night both grew longer and experts announce that this phenomenon would
have staggering effect on every other natural event: crops would be affected massively and the
slowing would prove to be devastating for the world’s food supply. Julia and her best friend
Hannah learn about the earth’s change from the television and Julia experiences a whirlpool of
changes right after this (Walker). The gravitational pull of the planet changes and birds begin to
die due to that.
While everything of the planet’s functions change, it seems that even humans and their
behavior are also affected by the sudden slowdown of the earth’s rotation. Everyone receives the
news and reacts to it in different ways. Panic reigns all around and justifiably so. One of the most
interesting things of the novel is the contrast in the behavior of Julia’s parents. Julia describes her
mother’s behavior as overdramatic at times and that she overstates almost everything or that she
talks about “god awful” things on a regular basis (Walker). She, while going out once to the
grocery store in the morning learns about the slowing of the planet and upon arrival to the house
lets the others know as well. Helen panics and starts to think what would happen or what effects
may this new natural problem on the lives of the people. She cannot sit properly and has to drink
whiskey in order to calm herself down.

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On the other hand, Julia’s father, Joel is as calm as one can be. He is a doctor who
delivers babies. To him, concluding upon anything with a good and wide source of proof is
something that seems to be a bearer of flawed results. He stays calm and watches what the news
reporters, the scientists, the experts on different matters all say about the slowdown (Walker).
However, he remains calm throughout the news presentations and asks Helen to do the same as
being panicky would not be helpful anyhow. He even says that Julia should not be watching the
TV as it may have negative effects on her and make her thinking or judgement clouded. He does
act and seem very practical, but at times it hits as if like being too emotionless. He pleads to his
daughter to stop thinking about it and insists on her to come outside the house and play soccer
with him.
Julia’s mother gets annoyed with Joel as she thinks he is not taking things seriously and
his calm makes her uneasy. She asks him not to go to work that day and stay home with his
family. But Joel, being cynical of the entire condition and skeptical about its effects, brushes off
her request and goes to work anyhow. He holds his responsibilities over anything else that shows
his moral strength in comparison to his wife. He calmly tries to explain to his family that things
are unlikely to change so drastically (Walker). Helen, remains unconvinced by her husband’s
assurances and starts to prepare for a calamity nonetheless. She stocks up on flashlights and
starts storing food. Joel does not think too much about the slowdown and even works double
shifts because most of the staff at the hospital where he works do not show up. When he comes
back home and learns that Julia knows about the death of the woman at the hospital he genuinely
becomes upset, which shows his nature to protect his daughter from any sort of disturbing news.
The difference in their attitude and reception of the news made the relationship between
Julia’s parents eventually turn into something bitter and her mother started to become more and

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more annoyed with him. While Julia’s father was cynical at first, he quickly accepted the change
and tried to adapt to the change as soon as possible, making the transition as smoothly he could,
her mother accepts the change but denies to adapt accordingly. Joel seems much more practical
and receptive, as well as adaptive, in a calm way, trying to understand what is going on. Julia’s
mother is much more rigid and full of tension and panics (Walker). The contrast between the
character of the two people is established through their behavior and their perceptions on the
matter of the earth’s slowing down.

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References
Walker, Karen T. The Age of Miracles. Random House, 2012.